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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015

Sports Remains Radio Industry’s Mr. November. Before the seasonal all-holiday music format makes seismic ratings shifts, sports radio is enjoying its moment. After setting a new format record with a full share-point 6+ gain in Nielsen’s October survey, the format kept its hot streak going in November. In fact, sports even smashed its own record by blasting its best-ever 25-54 audience share in November. Nielsen’s November survey covers the period from Oct. 8-Nov. 4, which coincides with baseball’s postseason playoffs and a competitive World Series between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets, along with four weeks of prime football season. “This seasonal upswing has become more and more pronounced as the years have gone on, and looking back to 2012, sports radio has increased its share of audience by 15% in both the 6+ and 25-54 demographics,” Nielsen says in a new rating report. Within the span of three years, listening to sports radio among persons 6+ has soared from an average 4.7 share to a 5.4. The gain in the 25-54 Money Demo has been no less impressive, from a 5.3 share in November 2012 to a record-shattering 6.1 in November 2015. Fall typically marks the format’s perennial pinnacle—last autumn was also a record setter for sports radio.

Hot AC Looks To Ride Its Best November. Heading into back-to-back ratings surveys heavily skewed by holiday programming, hot AC posted strong November numbers, putting it in a prime position to weather the Christmas format storm. Hot AC notched a 7.7 share among listeners aged 18-34 and a 7.3 in the 25-54 demo in Nielsen’s November survey, tying the records the format set in July 2015. “November 2015 was easily the format’s best November in PPM measurement, and sets hot AC up for another strong holiday season,” Nielsen says in a new report on November ratings trends. Last year hot AC, in a big turnaround, posted its best ratings ever during the Holiday survey, making it the third-fastest-growing format as a result of Christmas programming. As the format that converts more stations to all-Christmas than any other, AC has the most to gain during the December and Holiday surveys. And Nielsen’s new analysis shows AC’s November ratings gains that Inside Radio reported last week weren’t confined to radio’s largest markets. AC stations in PPM markets grew from an average 6+ share of 7.0 in November 2014 to a 7.6 this November. The format’s average 18-34 share improved 5.7-6.5 during the same period while 25-54 listening jumped 6.7-7.3. All told, it was AC’s best November ratings in at least four years, setting the format up for its annual holiday ratings surge. “In 2014, AC marked an upswing around the holidays after two years of declining listener shares, and the format is currently positioned to improve on those results over the next few months,” Nielsen notes in the report.

Christmas Switch Tally Looks To Rival 2014. A total of 529 stations went all-Christmas last year, setting a new radio industry record. And based on the number of flips so far in 2015, the holiday trend is keeping pace. As of Nov. 29, 455 AM and FM radio stations have converted to all-holiday formats, on par with 2014 levels, when 456 stations had switched by the Sunday following Thanksgiving, according to Inside Radio monitoring. More than three-dozen markets now boast more than one all-holiday station, including major markets such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit and Seattle. And in Chicago, the holiday spirit is in overdrive, with four FM stations airing all-Christmas tunes. While some stations flip as early as Halloween, the bulk wait until closer to Thanksgiving, given the more traditional timing for shopping and decorating. But

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station managers say it is important to surprise listeners with the flip and be first in a market to make the change. “In markets with multiple Christmas stations, the first one typically wins,” iHeartMedia senior VP of programming Tony Coles told Inside Radio. Last year, 78 iHeart stations switched. Drawn by the opportunity for a seasonal ratings and revenue lift, the format is big business. With audiences that can double or even triple, stations can charge advertisers a premium for their ad inventory, which often sells out, and promote their regular programming to the expanded audience. And the holiday barrage isn’t over yet, as more stations will likely flip formats this week. Last year, about 65 stations flipped in the week following Thanksgiving and a handful waited until the week before Christmas. The final station to flip last year: independently owned country WTRB, Ripley, TN (1570) which made the move Dec. 22.

Do You Hear What We Hear? Holiday Spot Counts Rise. Retailers upped their radio spend during the week of Nov. 23-29, leveraging the medium to get consumers in the door and onto their e-commerce platforms during a critical sale week. Kohl’s, for instance, more than doubled its radio flight, running 33,018 spots on stations tracked by Media Monitors during the week that includes Black Friday, compared to 14,754 spots the week before. That moved the store from No. 17 to fifth on Media Monitors top 100 ranking. Jared the Galleria of Jewelry jumped from No. 16 to No. 13 with 20,777 spots, up from 15,697 one week earlier. Toys R Us again boosted its radio presence with 17,087 spots, up from 12,300 the week before, advancing from No. 25 to No. 20. Pharmacy chain Walgreens, which stocks its seasonal aisle with lights and holiday decorations, moved from fourth to second with 41,929 spots, up from 33,548 the week before. The Home Depot, a big seller of Christmas trees, lights and holiday decorations, remained No. 1 in both weeks. But home improvement competitor Lowes continued to pump its allocation, airing 26,480 spots last week to rank eighth, up from 22,570 one week earlier. Wireless providers also relied on radio to increase sales during the crucial Thanksgiving week. AT&T Wireless aired 34,816 spots (ranked fourth), up from 30,973 the week prior. After not even placing in the top 100 the week of Nov. 16-23, Verizon Wireless returned to radio in a big way with 27,272 commercials to rank seventh. Sprint more than quadrupled its radio schedule to 25,352 spots (ranked 11th). Also in radio’s top 20 were Metro PCS (10th with 25,621) and T-Mobile (16th, 18,071). Both were up in spot count from one week earlier.

New Car Sales in High November Gear. When it comes to new car buying, U.S. consumers are pedal to the metal, with predicted sales in November rising 7% vs. last year. J.D. Power estimates a total of 1.3 million retail and fleet sales during the month for radio’s No. 1 ad category. John Humphrey, senior VP of the global automotive practice at J.D. Power, notes, “The strength of the industry continues to be observed through strong sales volume and high transaction prices.” The average transaction price is $31,498, the highest ever for any November and second highest for any month, period. (The record was $31,519 in December 2014.) In addition, the automotive industry is setting records for long-term loans and leases this year. J.D. Power said that in the first two weeks of November, lease penetration reached 27.7%, a 2% jump from all of 2014. Long-term loan penetration, meanwhile, is up 2.2% to 34.4% over the same period. In total, J.D. Power estimates light-vehicle (retail and fleet) sales for 2015 to reach 17.5 million units, up from the 17.3 million units LMC Automotive predicted earlier in the year. J.D. Power’s LMC Automotive unit did some adjusting to its figures to come up with an apples-to-apples comparison for November 2015 over 2014. This November had only four selling weekends for the first time since 2012, and the fewest selling days (23) of any month since September two years ago.

For Holiday Shoppers, No Place Like Home. The challenge. The cold. The wondrous principle of navigating long lines outside the local Best Buy to save $100 on an HDTV—they’re all Black Friday trademarks. But the Friday bargain hunt is starting to give way more to the hunt and peck on keyboards. Shoppers are increasingly seeking and clicking on great deals from the comfort of home. This year, IBM Tech30 reports that digital sales were up 21.5% on Nov. 27 compared to the Friday after Thanksgiving one year ago. Adobe puts total Black Friday online spending in the U.S. at $2.7 billion. The firm also reports that online spending on Thursday and Friday totaled a record $4.47 billion. “U.S. consumers have turned into digital

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shopping ninjas,” Adobe analyst Tamara Gaffney told CNN. In addition, online sales rose a robust 14% on Cyber Monday, which not only set a record but was apparently so brisk that Target’s website briefly crashed while outages or slow checkouts were reported at Wal-Mart, Foot Locker and others. Adobe Digital Index predicted that by the end of Monday, Web shopping would total $3 billion. The bargains actually began earlier: Between Thanksgiving Day and Sunday, $8.03 billion was spent online, a 17% increase from 2014, Adobe says. The average shopper spent $135.25, up 4% from 2014. In addition, mobile, which includes phones and tablets, accounted for 53% of shopping visits, driving 32% of online sales. The National Retail Federation says that more than 151 million people shopped over the weekend, either in a physical store or online—a large jump from the 136 million who said they planned to shop in a survey a few weeks ago, MediaPost reports. A Look At What’s In Store—Brick-and-mortar shops saw some declines in 2015; go to InsideRadio.com.

For Sale By Investment Company—25 FM Translators. Taking advantage of an FCC Rulemaking that will allow AM broadcasters to relocate an existing FM translator up to 250 miles, an investment company is putting more than two-dozen FM translators up for sale via online auction. Ron Unkefer’s privately held First Ventures Capital Partners says the more than 25 FM translators available for bidding as of Wednesday at 9am CT can collectively be relocated to cover all or parts of 22 different states. The company’s FMtranslatorauction.com site lists translators in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. Most have a minimum bid in the $30Kto $40K range with “buy now” prices in the $45K to $60K range. The site shows the exact relocation area available for each translator and spells out the bidding process, rules and terms and provides a standard Asset Purchase Agreement. To participate in the auction, bidders are required to register and make a $1,000 bid deposit per translator, paid in advance or simultaneous with the first bid for each translator selected. Under the FCC’s AM Revitalization Rulemaking adopted in late-October, the Media Bureau early next year will begin authorizing AM stations to buy and relocate one existing non-reserved band FM translator up to 250 miles away, and specify any non-reserved band FM channel as a minor modification application. There will be two modification windows—Class C and D stations go first in a six-month window, followed by an additional three-month period for AM stations of any class, including Class C and D stations that didn’t file in the first window.

CBS Radio Tasks Jeff Shultz With Strategic Growth. Aiming to develop new ways to distribute and monetize its content, CBS Radio has appointed Jeff Shultz to the newly created position of senior VP of business development. Based in Los Angeles and reporting to CEO Andre Fernandez, Shultz is tasked with identifying strategic growth areas and opportunities that capitalize on the company’s broadcast stations, local digital assets and live events. Schultz arrives from the same position at sister division CBS Interactive. “Given CBS Radio’s continued emphasis on transformative initiatives to grow the business and extend our brands deeper into the communities we serve, having a dedicated leader focused on distribution development and content monetization will be a welcome addition to the team,” Fernandez said in a news release. “Jeff’s performance at CBS Interactive has been impressive as he has forged new syndication agreements and increased advertising revenue during his tenure.” As a VP of business development at CBS Interactive, Shultz led partnership strategy for CBS-owned media groups under the division, including TVGuide.com, TV.com and Last.fm, among others. Prior to that, he worked at Clicker, an online discovery guide and search engine for Internet television, as senior VP of business development from 2010-11. Clicker was acquired by CBS in 2011. From 2002-09, Shultz was cofounder and CEO of live music television network Concert.TV. He earlier held business development positions at NBC Internet and Quepasa.com in San Francisco and Phoenix, respectively.

Rdio’s Failure—Good Tech, Poor Marketing. As streaming music provider Rdio prepares to shutter its service and wind down operations, having filed for bankruptcy while selling some assets to one-time rival Pandora, the company’s demise provides important lessons for the streaming audio marketplace, which continues to face an uphill climb toward profitability. In a detailed account of Rdio’s rise and fall, a new report in Verge says poor marketing efforts handicapped the streaming

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service, which got to market before Spotify but failed to build a sustainable business. The company, for instance, never had a consistent marketing chief. Another failing, the story says, was Rdio being late at introducing a free ad-supported service. By 2013, the story notes, Spotify had grown to 24 million users with 6 million being paid subscribers. Rdio never disclosed its subscriber figures. Offering two levels of service—free and ad-supported, and commercial-free paid tiers—have helped both Spotify and Pandora grow their user-base, attract ad revenue and convert free users to the paid level. For its part, Rdio did attempt to broaden its base, signing a deal with Cumulus Media, which took over national ad sales for the streaming service, and presented its 500-plus radio stations as promotional partners. Last summer, Rdio announced plans to launch live radio stations in partnership with Cumulus, but the Verge story contends it was too little, too late. While Rdio fell short in some efforts, the report cites the company’s user interface and technology as being highly influential for other streaming services, including Apple Music. In another testament to Rdio’s technological strengths, Pandora is acquiring Rdio’s intellectual property and some of its staff. Cumulus, meanwhile, recently wrote down $19 million in expenses related to its Rdio stake.

Rock Stations Tap Into Beer Tie-Ins. When it comes to marketing rock radio, some broadcasters are finding that a six-pack can sometimes rival a 30-second TV spot or a billboard for effectiveness. That’s certainly the case for a New Jersey classic rocker that is building its own line of craft beer. Equity Broadcasting’s WZXL, Atlantic City (100.7) and a local craft brewery, Prism Brewing Company, recently debuted their third cobranded beer, “100.7 ZXL’s Rocktoberfest Irish Red Ale.” The launch follows the success of two other beers, “JoJo & Scotty’s Some Are Brunette Brown Ale” and “JoJo & Scotty’s Summer Blonde Ale,” which are named for the station’s popular morning hosts, JoJo and Scotty. The bottle labels feature drawings of the hosts alongside winners of station-sponsored bikini contests. And since WZXL is the title sponsor of the annual “100.7 WZXL presents Atlantic City Beer & Music Festival,” the beer is an appropriate promotional tie-in. In Seattle, Entercom’s “99.9 The Rock” KISW-FM is also in the beer business. Since 2009, KISW and local brewhouse Elysian have gone in on a popular craft line named after its afternoon show, “The Men’s Room.” KISW’s beer is available at more than 4,000 locations in the U.S. and internationally, and has won several awards. In New Jersey, WZXL’s product is more localized. The station works with a regional liquor distributor, Harrison Beverage; so far, the beers are available in about 15 local bars, restaurants and liquor stores, with distribution expanding into nearby Philadelphia. The first batch of production included 120 cases of the brown ale and summer brew, while the new Rocktoberfest is a limited production, with about 60 cases. Brewed Connections—Station hosts talk about how the WZXL beers help keep them top-of-mind with listeners; go to InsideRadio.com.

Wachs’ Irregular Move Into Modcasts Pays Off. After the December, 2014 exit of Larry Wachs from classic rock “Rock 100.5” WNNX Atlanta, the 20-year veteran of “The Regular Guys” morning show launched his own “modcast” in April—his take on a “modern podcast.” The show has now gained enough traction that the host has introduced his own app. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Rodney Ho reported last spring that Wachs’ modcast provided a new means for the host to showcase his skills as a solo interviewer, commentator and storyteller. “It’s very chilling and a little scary,” Wachs told the columnist. “It’s exhilarating. This is just what I’m doing. Where it leads, who knows?” The 24-minute self-produced podcast has led to such success that Wachs hosted a launch party at the Palm Restaurant last week to celebrate the launch of his app. He told Ho there, “The modcast is modern broadcasting. It’s Atlanta’s No. 1 [and] possibly only smartphone radio show. There’s a huge niche out there for content people really want to hear. It’s a local show on a smartphone.” Since April, Wachs has completed 28 modcasts, about three per month, fostering such sponsors as Ketel One Vodka, Granite Risk Advisors, local architect Chip Murrah and Atlanta restaurant Trattoria 141. With the launch of his app, Wachs vows not to look back at traditional radio. He calls podcasting, “radio practiced under capitalism, not radio…with rules and regulations that hamper the flow of creativity.” He also voices the opinion that in large part, FM radio broadcasters still have a bunch to learn about how to effectively integrate podcasting. “There’s a lot of fear of change,” he said. “What podcasters are doing that brings the digital money in their direction, they’re telling stories.”

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2015CLASSIFIEDS

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE WITH LISTSACRAMENTO

Entravision Sacramento is looking for a radio seller with an affinity and experience selling the CHR format for Hit Music Station Hot 103.5FM. Duties also include selling Wolf 101.9FM, and top Spanish language stations Jose 104.3FM and Tricolor 99.9FM. Ideal candidate is a strongwilled, forceful, and determined sales professional who can call on local businesses to sell integrated marketing solutions that include radio, digital and event marketing. Candidate will manage an existing list as well as COLD CALL for new business development. Must have strong communication and presentation skills and develop customized marketing plans that include research. Must be customer focused and able to adapt to different selling situations. Periodic client entertainment is required. Guaranteed draw, generous commission and bonus structure. Candidate must prospect and develop new business. Knowledge of Wide Orbit, Nielsen, Salesforce as well as Microsoft Office.

Send resume with cover letter to: evcsacjobs@entravision.com

Entravision Communications is an EOE.

Come join the sales team at one of the finest broadcast companies in America!

Salem Media of New York is looking for a Sales Manager for our two local radio stations, AM 970 The Answer and AM 570 The Mission. Key to this position is the ability to energetically and creatively lead a sales team in local direct spot sales campaigns. This position is ideal for an individual who is experienced as a sales manager or an accomplished AE looking to take the next step in his/her career. Salem offers a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits. Please CLICK HERE to apply.

Or, Contact: Laura Sheaffer Assistant to General Manager, Jerry Crowley

laura@nycradio.com Call 212-857-9639

to schedule an interview.

Salem Media Group is an equal opportunity employer.

SALES MANAGER — NEW YORK

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LSM & DSM — HEARST RADIOBALTIMORE

Hearst is one of the nation’s most diversified media, information and

technology companies and we believe in impactful live and local radio. Our Baltimore stations are news/

talk powerhouse WBAL-AM and the legendary 98 ROCK, and we are the

flagship for the Baltimore Ravens and Navy Football. We need both a Local Sales Manager and Digital

Sales Manager who share our desire to combine superior local content with

exceptional sales leadership. Our team is determined and energetic, and our work environment is respectable with a high standard of excellence.

To Apply and Learn more about Hearst and these leadership opportunities:

CLICK HEREEOE